Nathan K  
Instruments: Violin, Viola, Electric Violin
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Funk, Hip Hop, Swing, Avant-garde

For the past two years I have worked alternately as a private violin teacher, and as a private music theory tutor for students in New York City and Philadelphia, my hometown. I have taught both children and adult students, and embrace the challenges that each age group presents. I recently completed my undergraduate training at the New School where I studied violin performance with an emphasis on Jazz and Contemporary Music. While I was studying, I was lucky to work on-campus as a tutor for fellow students. I tutored subjects like music theory, composition, and ear training. This experience lay a foundation for an interdisciplinary approach to teaching my instrument, one that emphasizes theoretical and conceptual approaches to performing, not just technical considerations.

My teaching method combines aspects of the Suzuki method with my own creative exercises and improvisation. I believe that teaching students to invent melodies and rhythms from early in their musical training deepens their ability to hear and perform. I also believe that rhythmic exercises are not emphasized enough in classical instrumental training, and I incorporate such exercises into my own core curriculum. If a student is interested in improvisation, jazz, or pop music, I offer in-depth instruction to performing over chord changes, and other creative violin techniques like playing chords, chopping, and other percussive tools. I rely on the etude methods of Kruetzer, Schradieck, and Ševčík to focus on specific technical challenges students face.